"Star Maps" is a unusual for a Hollywood film. It is quite literate and does not follow the conventional Hollywood film structure. In fact, it views like a film version of a literary novella. This is probably it's weakness and it's strength. I am being very vague because I do not like to step on anyone's enjoyment of film by inadvertently spilling the beans. Just take my word for it that "Star Maps" is a literate movie with very talented Hispanic actors and actresses.

"Star Maps" is the bittersweet journey of a Mexican hustler who wants to be a famous actor but finds that goal challenged by his extremely dysfunctional family. This movie is a great Hollywood coming-of-age story in the vein of "Where The Day Takes You" and "Eddie Presley". Definitely worth a look!

"Star Maps" appears to be a sincere dramatic product which simply spreads itself too thin. The film attempts to focus on the problems, unusual in both quantity and character, which beset a Mexican family in Los Angeles. However, it spreads itself to thin, lacks purpose, plays out uneven, is occasionally hard to swallow, and when it runs out of time it just quits. Overall the film has its moments but they're too few and too far between. A somewhat gritty drama with strong sexual content, "Star Maps" just doesn't measure up. Most likely to be appreciated by indie lovers and Mex-Am audiences. (C-)

Miguel Arteta wrote and directed this extremely naïve modern-day story of a young Hispanic boy in Hollywood, just off the bus from Mexico, who reunites with his family and becomes part of his father's street corner map-selling business--a front for prostitution (a fact every driver seems to get but, oddly, no police). Arteta doesn't have a solid or interesting take on this old situation, and he has no intrinsic feel for the ambiance of Los Angeles. What's worse, he has even less talent working with his Hispanic cast (these must be the most Anglo-ized Latinos and Latinas on the screen since the 1960s). The youngster's domineering, abusive father stands in the kid's way of his pursuing an acting career (wouldn't that bring in more dinero than sex-for-cash?),yet Arteta never puts this love-hate relationship into any perspective, and the flashback near the climax does nothing to reconcile our feelings for the characters. It's a mess, yet one can clearly perceive a spark of ambition here, a stab at something more profound than what we ultimately see on the screen. * from ****